GREENWOOD, Ind. — 13 Investigates has compiled a timeline of events for the mass shooting inside Greenwood Park Mall based on reports from Greenwood police and radio traffic from Johnson County emergency services agencies.
4:54 p.m. – The shooter entered the mall and went straight to a bathroom near the food court, according to Greenwood Police.
5:56:48 p.m. – The shooter emerged from the restroom and began shooting, killing three people and injuring several others, Greenwood Police report.
5:56 p.m. – Johnson County emergency dispatchers begin receiving phone calls from mall patrons and workers. “They’re advising there’s a male shooter. He’s possibly in the food court at this time. More than a dozen people,” the dispatcher reported.
5:56 p.m. – A police officer reports seeing people running out into the mall parking lot.
5:57 p.m. – An ambulance and other emergency response vehicles were dispatched to the mall.
5:57:03 p.m. – An armed mall patron engages the shooter by returning gunfire. Just 15 seconds after the shooting began, police say the shooter was killed. (Police would not learn the shooter was dead for several more minutes.)
5:57 p.m. – Dispatchers report receiving additional 911 calls about the shooting, including a description of a weapon. “We’re getting several calls from Johnson County. Possible active shooter at the Greenwood Park Mall. Several subjects. Possible AK-47,” said the dispatcher.
5:58 p.m. – Dispatchers share more information, including how many victims EMS crews might find inside the mall. “So far, possibly three. We’re still, our phone lines are still all lit up. We’re still just trying to gather information. They’re not hearing shots at this time. They’re possibly by the food court. So far, we’ve got at least three,” a dispatcher told EMS crews. A supervisor responds, “OK, give me three more ambulances,” and more paramedics and emergency vehicles are dispatched.
6:01 p.m. – Still unaware if a shooter is at large, emergency medical crews establish a command post and staging area in the parking lot, outside Von Maur and Dicks Sporting Goods.
6:06 p.m. – Based on confirmation from police, EMS declares the scene a “mass casualty” situation.
6:07 p.m. – Paramedics wait for police protection to enter mall food court area. “Ok, we’re not going in until we have police escorts, so just stage here,” a supervisor says, directing EMS crews to the parking lot staging area.
6:08 p.m. – EMS crews enter the building with a police SWAT team and establish a triage location outside the corridor to the mall food court.
6:14 p.m. – EMS reports three people are being transported to area hospitals and two victims were found to be dead on arrival. Another victim, who suffered head wounds while fleeing the shooting, is located outside the mall.
6:15 p.m. – EMS reports “all the patients in our immediate vicinity have been either tagged DOA or they’re now being transported.” They also report on the condition of the shooter. “We had a pulse. Now we don’t, but they’re going to go ahead and work him and transport him.”
6:17 p.m. – EMS crews are warned about a suspicious backpack found in the same mall bathroom where the shooter prepared to commit his crime. “Police are advising a backpack in the back bathroom, possibly a bomb. We’re going to evacuate the area,” a dispatcher announces.
6:18 p.m. – Police actively search all corridors in the mall, locating remaining civilians in the building and escorting them out while police determine if the backpack in the food court restroom contains any explosives.
The above timeline is based on police and first responder information released thus far.